2 scribes held in Nepal for publishing objectionable content

Kathmandu: Two journalists have been arrested in Nepal for publishing "objectionable contents", even as the country`s media watchdog termed it as "illegal" and demanded their immediate release.

Sushil Panta, Editor of nepaliheadlines.Com, and his reporter Santosh Bhattarai were held after the Padma Kanya Multiple Campus lodged a complaint over an article posted in their online news portal on Thursday about the sexual life of college students. The campus administration lodged a complaint against the journalists over the article, claiming that it contains sexually objectionable items. The Press Council Nepal (PCN) on Friday issued a statement and said the arrest of journalists over the published content is against the law. The controversial news item has already been deleted from the news portal. The police said that the action was taken under the Electronic Transaction Act. Nepal Indigenous Journalist Federation has also deplored the arrest, saying that it was illegal. Since there were legal ways such as filing complaints at the Press Council or going to the court if one is not happy with the news published through the mass media, Chairman of Press Council Borna Bahadur Karki said in the statement. The Press Council has asked the authorities to immediately release the journalists. PTI